There is culture influence on marketing strategies and this could be observed from many examples. Standardization or adaptation, these are the two extreme of the international marketing strategies. In the following, I will try to give examples of the culture impact on the main component for the marketing strategy:
1 Product
According to Dubois[1], marketers designing product strategies have to take the impact of culture into account mostly in the area of positioning, product presentation, and packaging. How marketing efforts interact with a culture determines the success or failure of a product. This strategy could be impacted by the material culture of the host country. For example, General Foods squandered millions trying to introduce packaged cake mixes to Japanese consumers but they failed because they have not considered the culture differences. The company failed to note that only 3% of the Japanese homes were equipped with ovens[2]. Anther example, Campbell Soups lost $30 million in Europe before it accepted the idea that British and U.S. soup consumers were different in three important ways[3]:
1. British soups consumers have different taste preferences. Campbell soups made no attempt to modify the taste of their soups for the British palate
2. British soup consumers had not been educated to the condensed soup product concept. Because of the smaller can size.
3. British soup consumers did not respond the same way to U.S. advertisement as U.S. consumer did.
If we talk about a religion like Islam for example, we will notice that it is forbidden to eat ham or drink alcohol. This should be known by any international company before they start to offer such products in any Moslem country. Therefore, standardisation of the marketing strategy can not works all time and the culture influence should be taking seriously in consideration
2 Promotion
Advertising and promotion require special attention because the play a key role in communicating product concepts and benefits to the target segment. Culture is subjective people in different cultures often have different ideas about the same object. What is acceptable in one culture may not necessarily be so in another. Companies can run the same advertising and promotion campaigns used in their home market or change them for each local market, a process called communication adoption. However, if the adoption will cover the product and the communication it is called dual adoption. Communication could be impacted by:
· Language
Procter & Gamble’s Crest toothpaste initially failed in Mexico when it used the U.S. campaign[4]. Mexicans did not care as much for the decay-prevention benefit, nor did scientifically oriented advertising appeal to them. Also, A U.S. toothpaste manufacturer promised its customers that they would be more “interesting” if they used the firm’s toothpaste. What the advertising coordinators did not realize, however, was that in Latin American Countries “interesting” is another euphemism for “pregnant”. Anther example from Spain, Chevrolet’s Nova translated as “it doesn’t go.” A laundry soap ad claiming to wash “really dirty parts” was translated in French-speaking Quebec to read “A soap for washing private parts[5].”
· Food
Chase and Sanborn met resistance when it tried to introduce its instant coffee in France. In the home, the consumption of coffee plays more of a ceremonial role than in the English home. The preparation of “real” coffee is a touchstone in the life of the French housewife, so she will generally reject instant coffee because its causal characteristics do not “fit” into the French eating habits[6].
· Values
In 1963, Dow Breweries introduced a new beer in Quebec, Canada; called “kebec” the promotion incorporated the Canadian flag and attempted to evoke nationalistic pride[7]. The strategy backfired when major local groups protested the “profane” use of “sacred” symbols.
· Religion
England’s East India Company once caused a revolt when it did not modify a product[8]. In 1857, bullets were often encased in pig wax, and the tops had to be bitten off before the bullets could be fired. The Indian soldiers revolted since it was against their religion to eat pork. Hundreds of people were killed before order was restored. In Saudi Arabia, there are no advertising for contraceptive products because of the religion[9].
· Social Norms and time
A telephone company tried to incorporate a Latin flavour in its commercials by employing Puerto Rican actors. In the ad, the wife said to her husband, “run and phone Mary. Tell her we will be a little late.” This commercial has two major cultural errors. Latin wives seldom dare order their husband around, and almost no Latin would feel it necessary to phone to warm of tardiness since it is expected
3 Price
With regard to pricing, Buzzell argues that three dimensions of culture are at work[10]:
1. Values which affect the propensity to bargain
2. The legal framework which determines the extent to which fixed resale prices are to be allowed
3. Customs which command margins taken by trade intermediaries
These dimensions affect the overall price level of a product. A Gucci handbag may sell for $120 in Italy and $240 in USA. Why? Gucci has to add the cost of transportation, tariffs, importer margin, wholesaler margin, and retailer margin to its factory price. The acceptance of the price is impacted by the culture as you can’t sell a can of Coca-Cola for 75 cents on poor countries.
1 Product
According to Dubois[1], marketers designing product strategies have to take the impact of culture into account mostly in the area of positioning, product presentation, and packaging. How marketing efforts interact with a culture determines the success or failure of a product. This strategy could be impacted by the material culture of the host country. For example, General Foods squandered millions trying to introduce packaged cake mixes to Japanese consumers but they failed because they have not considered the culture differences. The company failed to note that only 3% of the Japanese homes were equipped with ovens[2]. Anther example, Campbell Soups lost $30 million in Europe before it accepted the idea that British and U.S. soup consumers were different in three important ways[3]:
1. British soups consumers have different taste preferences. Campbell soups made no attempt to modify the taste of their soups for the British palate
2. British soup consumers had not been educated to the condensed soup product concept. Because of the smaller can size.
3. British soup consumers did not respond the same way to U.S. advertisement as U.S. consumer did.
If we talk about a religion like Islam for example, we will notice that it is forbidden to eat ham or drink alcohol. This should be known by any international company before they start to offer such products in any Moslem country. Therefore, standardisation of the marketing strategy can not works all time and the culture influence should be taking seriously in consideration
2 Promotion
Advertising and promotion require special attention because the play a key role in communicating product concepts and benefits to the target segment. Culture is subjective people in different cultures often have different ideas about the same object. What is acceptable in one culture may not necessarily be so in another. Companies can run the same advertising and promotion campaigns used in their home market or change them for each local market, a process called communication adoption. However, if the adoption will cover the product and the communication it is called dual adoption. Communication could be impacted by:
· Language
Procter & Gamble’s Crest toothpaste initially failed in Mexico when it used the U.S. campaign[4]. Mexicans did not care as much for the decay-prevention benefit, nor did scientifically oriented advertising appeal to them. Also, A U.S. toothpaste manufacturer promised its customers that they would be more “interesting” if they used the firm’s toothpaste. What the advertising coordinators did not realize, however, was that in Latin American Countries “interesting” is another euphemism for “pregnant”. Anther example from Spain, Chevrolet’s Nova translated as “it doesn’t go.” A laundry soap ad claiming to wash “really dirty parts” was translated in French-speaking Quebec to read “A soap for washing private parts[5].”
· Food
Chase and Sanborn met resistance when it tried to introduce its instant coffee in France. In the home, the consumption of coffee plays more of a ceremonial role than in the English home. The preparation of “real” coffee is a touchstone in the life of the French housewife, so she will generally reject instant coffee because its causal characteristics do not “fit” into the French eating habits[6].
· Values
In 1963, Dow Breweries introduced a new beer in Quebec, Canada; called “kebec” the promotion incorporated the Canadian flag and attempted to evoke nationalistic pride[7]. The strategy backfired when major local groups protested the “profane” use of “sacred” symbols.
· Religion
England’s East India Company once caused a revolt when it did not modify a product[8]. In 1857, bullets were often encased in pig wax, and the tops had to be bitten off before the bullets could be fired. The Indian soldiers revolted since it was against their religion to eat pork. Hundreds of people were killed before order was restored. In Saudi Arabia, there are no advertising for contraceptive products because of the religion[9].
· Social Norms and time
A telephone company tried to incorporate a Latin flavour in its commercials by employing Puerto Rican actors. In the ad, the wife said to her husband, “run and phone Mary. Tell her we will be a little late.” This commercial has two major cultural errors. Latin wives seldom dare order their husband around, and almost no Latin would feel it necessary to phone to warm of tardiness since it is expected
3 Price
With regard to pricing, Buzzell argues that three dimensions of culture are at work[10]:
1. Values which affect the propensity to bargain
2. The legal framework which determines the extent to which fixed resale prices are to be allowed
3. Customs which command margins taken by trade intermediaries
These dimensions affect the overall price level of a product. A Gucci handbag may sell for $120 in Italy and $240 in USA. Why? Gucci has to add the cost of transportation, tariffs, importer margin, wholesaler margin, and retailer margin to its factory price. The acceptance of the price is impacted by the culture as you can’t sell a can of Coca-Cola for 75 cents on poor countries.
4 Place
Distribution channels within countries vary considerably[11]. Selling soap in Japan is different than Africa because of the local distribution systems. The size and the character of the retail units are different from country to anther.
The Development of Global Culture Rapid changes in technology in the last several decades have changed the nature of culture and cultural exchange. Local culture and social structure are now shaped by large and powerful commercial interests in ways that earlier anthropologists could not have imagined. Early anthropologists thought of societies and their cultures as fully independent systems. But today, many nations are multicultural societies, composed of numerous smaller subcultures. The impact is there and it is pivotal.
Distribution channels within countries vary considerably[11]. Selling soap in Japan is different than Africa because of the local distribution systems. The size and the character of the retail units are different from country to anther.
The Development of Global Culture Rapid changes in technology in the last several decades have changed the nature of culture and cultural exchange. Local culture and social structure are now shaped by large and powerful commercial interests in ways that earlier anthropologists could not have imagined. Early anthropologists thought of societies and their cultures as fully independent systems. But today, many nations are multicultural societies, composed of numerous smaller subcultures. The impact is there and it is pivotal.
[1] Dubois, Bernard (1987), "Culture et marketing", Recherché et Applications en Marketing, 11-1, 47-64.
[2] Sally A. Martin Egge,” Creating an environment of mutual respect within the multicultural workplace both at home and globally” Journal of Management Decision , Vol. 37, No. 1 ( Feb., 1999), pp. 24 – 28.
[3] http://www.foodcontamination.ca/fsnet/1996/9-1996/fs-09-23-96-01.txt
[4] Kotler, Marketing Management, The Eleventh Edition p385, Prentice Hall Publications
[5] Richard P. Carpenter and the Globe Staff. “What they Meant to say was….,”Boston Globe, August 2, 1998, p.M6.
[6] Hugh Dauncey (2003),” French Popular Culture: An Introduction”, US: Oxford University Press.
[7] Frederick Elkin, “Advertising Themes and Quiet Revolutions: Dilemmas in French Canada”, American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 75, No. 1 (Jul., 1969), pp. 112-122
[8]http://www-scf.usc.edu/~efinnega/hist.html
[9] Ira M. Wasserman and Chikako Usui, “Indicators of contraceptive policy for nations at three levels of development”, Journal of Social Indicators Research, Volume 12, Number 2 / February, 1983, pp. 153-168.
[10] Buzzell, Robert D. (1968), "Can You Standardize Multinational Marketing?", Harvard Business Review, November-December, 102-113.
[11] Kotler, Marketing Management, The Eleventh Edition p400, Prentice Hall Publications
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